Means for purging wells



June 2, 1942. 5 PARKS I 2,285,949

MEANS FOR PURGING WELLS Filed Jan. 27, 1959 ASEl/fiY 6'. PARKS V NTOR.

8 M}; f3. 01M] ATTORNEYS.

' rapid rate until the necessary to return Patented June '2, 1 942 'umT-Eo STATESIPATENTV OFFICE..-

MEANS FOR PURGING WELLS Asbury S. Parks, Houston, Tex.

Application January 27, 1939, Serial No. 253,077 I 1 Claim. (Cl. 166-2) The invention relates to means for flowing wells, more particularly the flowing of wells in which there is a tendency for liquids to head up or accumulate to form a static head which eventually becomes suiiicient to efiect-a static condition when natural flow ceases.

Many oil wells produce both salt water and oil which are forced upwardly from the well by formation pressures. Under production allowables the movement of fluid in the tubing is so slow that there is a tendency for the well to head up with a column of salt water. Ir the formation pressure is insuflicient to overcome this head, flow ceases. To reestablish production it is then necessary to kick the well off with a gas pressure or to resort to swabbing in order to reduce the static head sufliciently to induce natural flow. I

Thereafter the same condition may again occur by a gradual building up of the column within the well.

In order to avoid the condition Just described it has been proposed to allow a well to flow at a allowable has been produced the salt water is carried from rapid flow through the and in this manner the well by virtue of the tubing string.

Alternately it has been proposed that an at-' tendant open a valve in the flow line after the pressure has fallen but before a static condition is reached. After a period of free flow in accordance with this, procedure the valve is again closed and normal production is continued. If, however, there is failure to open the fore static conditions have been reached, it is the well to normal production in a manner such as that above described.

Many wells also produce gas and oil at a high gas-oil ratioand there may, or may not, be accompanying salt water. To maintain a satis- 40 factory gas-oil ratio in such wells it is necessary to control production in such a manner that a liquid seal is constantly maintained so that gas cannot blow by the liquid slugs which are to be elevated thereby. In such procedure however there is a'tendency for the well to head up with the results already indicated. It is a general object of the present invention to provide means and method for overcoming ready indicated. o

It is also an object of the invention to provide a method for automatically purging flowing wells when static conditions within such wells are approached.

Another object is to periodically flow an oil 55 transverse walls 25 and 26 the difficulties al- 50 in Fig. 1, such valve comprising a valve behas been removed well at increased rate in order to remove fluids which tend to produce static conditions in the well.

Still another object is to open a producing well to increased flow to remove therefrom an accumulated head'of liquid and to thereafter reestablish normal flowing conditions.

- Another object is to provide apparatus which normally throttles the flow of fluids from the well but which decreases the throttling action when the well head pressure falls below a predetermined value.

Another object is to provide means for automatically purging an oil well and for reestablishing normal conditions after accumulated liquid from the well.

Still another object is to provide a valve automatically purging an oil well in which liquids head up and tend to mation pressure.

The foregoing and other objects will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawing in whichi Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a valve which is illustrative of mechanism that may be used in accordance with the invention. I

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the manner of using the valve disclosed in Fig. 1 in the practice of the invention.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a well head I including a tubing head 2 at the upper end of the flow string which carries fluids from within the well under formation pressures. Such fluids pass through the pipe 3, valve 4, choke 5 and pipe 6 to a pipe line .or storage tank indicated at I. This arrangement, as above indicated, may lead to heading up of the well .or an accumulation of liquid therein to such a point that the column of liquid would eventually counterbalance themay be by-passed about the choke 5 and delivered to the tank I.

' The purger valve H may be such as that shown body 20 having inlet and outlet openings 2! and 22 which would respectively be connected to the pipe from the valve l0 and that leading to the choke II.

The body 20 is openat its ends and has spaced for stop flow under forabove and below the tached at its lower end to a piston 3i.

' to the piston and constantly urges outlet 22. 'Insertable valve sets 2? is threndably secured in the wall 25 and is adapted to receive the ball valve Eli which is urged downwardly under the influence of springlt seated withinthe cup shaped end 3!! of the plug 8i threadably connected to the body 2i; at its upper end.

The wall 35 in the body 28 has an opening 35 coaxial with the opening 32 in the valve seat 2?. Passing through the opening 35 is a rod 35 at= This piston'is provided with suitable packing means such as rings til to prevent leakage of pressure fluid past the piston. Pressure is applied to the-upper face of the piston 8? through a passagev 38 from the inlet 2! so that the inlet pressure is applied the piston downwardly. r

A force tending to move the piston 31 upwardly is produced by compression spring 58 which abuts the piston and a collar St on the upper end of an adjusting screw 52 which passes thru the cap 58 threadably attached to the lower end of the body 20. The screw'52 isprovided with e lock nut 54 so that such screw may be locked at a fixed setting. The cap 53 is also provided with an opening 55 so that any fluid which may pass the piston tiwill be drained from the chamber below the piston.

The mode of operation of the described con;

struction, whereby the advantages of the invention accrue, is believed apparent. By way of illustration it may be assumed that the construc tion shown in Fig. l is so adjusted that the force of the spring 563 will overcome and slightly exceed the combined force exerted by thespring is and the fluid pressure upon the piston Si and the ball 28 overlying the passage 32 thru the valve seat 2?. The piston 3'! will then move upwardly and the upper end of the rod 36 will lift the ball 28;

from its seat. Fluid pressure upon the ball 28 is thereby released and the piston 31 will immediately move upwardly in its chamber until the force exerted by the spring till is balanced by the fluid pressure acting upon the upper surface of moved from the well after the valve H has been place at increasing oneness actuated, the pressure at the well head increases. When such pressure is increased sufliclently to overcome the'force exerted by the spring til, the piston #37 moves downwardly and the ball 28 again moves into position upon its seat El where-' by normal flow is resumed. Normal flow will thereafter continue until the pressure at the well head falls to such value that the purging cycle will be repeated.

since the pressure-at which the valve I! opens is determined by both the pressure on the piston 37] and on the ball 28 the opening 32, and the closing pressure is dependent onlyupon the area of the piston 3?, it is believed obvious that the pressure difference for opening and closing of the valve may be con,- trolled by the size of opening 32 in the valve seat 2?. This valve seat value and to thereafter reestablish normal flow,

after the pressure has reached a predetermined amount.

What is claimed as new is: Apparatus for purging flowing wells c0mpris= ing the combination of a flow line, a flow line at the top of the well, a pressure con trolled valve in a. by-pass flow line about said choke, said valve comprising a body having inlet I and outlet openings connected to the flow line on opposite sides of the choke, a valve member within said body, means operative for maintaining said Valve in. position completely closing the passage between said openings while the inlet pressure remains at or above a predetermined value, and other means operative for opening and maintaining said valvein open position to open said by-pass flow line when the inlet pressure which is also the pressure at the top. of the well falls below said predetermined value and remains below said predetermined value.

- ASBURY S. PARKS.

over the effective area of is therefore removable sq that a seat of desiredsize for a. given well may choke in the. 

